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The New Yorker: The Best Video Games of 2015

I was trying to see what "agenda" the author of the list could be pushing, but considering the titles in it (a good mix of indies and AAA, some with surrounding controversies), I fail to understand what it could be. It feels like an honest display of educated opinion. If this represents the modern day definition of "having an agenda", then I'm fine with it.
 

Aaron D.

Member
Have you played/seen Duskers? It's in my top ten this year and it's not hacking, but you do control drones through command lines. Makes for very methodical, cautious, and strategic gameplay. Sci-fi horror/strategy/roguelite

There's a thread for it over here

You know, I was going to say that I'd never heard of Duskers, then I clicked the link and the screenshots immediately reminded me of a Quick Look I watched for the game.

My next thought was to add the game to my Wishlist, so I went straight to the Steam page...and saw that the game is already Wishlisted.

Woof.

Thanks for the reminder. I'll keep an eye on it in the upcoming Holiday Sale!



There's something so compelling about well-written flavor text and description in interactive fiction/text-heavy games. I'm a description-heavy writer myself, so I love reading those flowing adjectives and details that paint the picture in your head more vividly than any graphic engine ever could

80 Days is another game that excels at that

You need to get your hands on Pillars of Eternity, stat.
 

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
Surprised that not one western AAA made it. Anyways, always good to see Bloodborne and Xenoblade make a GOTY list, and this is the first I've heard of Sunless Sea. Game sounds like it could be interesting...

as to the whole 'indie' vs. 'AAA' dichotomy - I don't think there should be any separation between the 2 categories, and if someone wants to choose a small-scale, obscure game as their #1 in place of say, Fallout 4, let 'em. It's a good way to bring coverage to a game that may otherwise get left behind. Shovel Knight was one of the best games I've played last year, for instance. Even if it was far from the flashiest...
 

DNAbro

Member
Overall good list. Happy to see Undertale get mentioned even a little and Downwell on a list. More people should definitely play Downwell.
 
Yes, more clickbait from that infamous clickbait farm, The New Yorker.

This article slots neatly between "You won't believe these 7 things Noam Chomsky keeps in his wallet" and "Congress can't stop talking about the Debt ceiling. The reason why will make you cry."

hahaha missed this one
 

ivysaur12

Banned
MGSV getting one step closer to that top spot!

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Splatoon and Xenoblade X!

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No mention of that trash Witcher 3!

az478XS.gif

I don't necessarily agree about Witcher 3, but I can't stop laughing at this.
 

Dascu

Member
Awful hipster list that just goes against popular opinion to be "seen".

what is wrong with you people

it is a magazine, an established and respectful magazine

this is not some kind of attempt at clicks or ad revenue

it is one person's selection of games that he liked playing

why do you even bother to come in here and post

are you hoping to get attention?
 

Savantcore

Unconfirmed Member
Anyone who likes Sunless Sea should check out the upcoming House of Many Doors. Failbetter are involved in making it I think.
 

KraytarJ

Member
Awful + hipster + agenda, all in the same post. I think that's a winner, folks
It's funny too because you'd think a hipster's list wouldn't ignore the big game starring a hipster, Life is Strange, but it's not here. So either the New Yorker and full of people that aren't good at being hipsters or they're so far in the hipster direction that they don't acknowledge AAA games or even games that hipsters would like
or maybe not everyone has to like and revere the same set small set of games in each given year
.
 

bede-x

Member
That's a great list. You can always disagree about individual titles numbering or those that have been left out, but this list unlike most, seems to be made by someone who's actually aware of just how many games are being released in a single year, in stark contrast to those that mention the same 5-10 AAA games with maybe a popular indie title trrown into the mix.
 

Nzyme32

Member
FUCKING YES!

Much respect to the New Yorker / Simon Parkin. Great list in and of itself, but Sunless Sea absolutely deserves to be there. My favourite game of they year for sure. People may be put off by the amount of reading involved, but it is so wonderful in its writing that it is easily engrossing!
 

kamineko

Does his best thinking in the flying car
Y'know, I walked away from this thread for a couple of days, but it stuck with me for some reason.

It's so strange to me that people who enjoy, along with millions, literally millions, of other people, top selling games, feel such a pressing desire to have their already widely shared and endorsed tastes validated. I mean, you can go to Walmart and throw a rock, and you'll probably hit somebody who liked Witcher 3. That's not a dig. I'm one of those people. I just fucking loved it. I don't need that perspective validated. The market has already done so.

It's disturbing that a well-considered dissenting opinion is not even worth evaluating or engaging. Differences are ultimately the essence of conversation. Without them, there is nothing to discuss.

If an author as articulate as Mr. Parkin cannot afford a satisfactory starting place for a conversation about video games, who the hell can? The moderation in this thread is encouraging, but I just have to ask, why come to a discussion forum if all you want is to just have somebody tell you that you have good taste?

There are a number of media outlets eager to tell you that already, there is no shortage of taste affirmation in the marketplace. Gee whiz, man

I'm moving SS to next in the backlog queue
 
Wonderful list - does the most important thing for me that a list can do: highlights things I haven't tried, as opposed to just re-affirming what I think.

Awful hipster list that just goes against popular opinion to be "seen".

The most hilarious thing about these posts is the fact that he goes to great lengths in the introduction to outline the nature of the list, the fact that it values innovation above all, and that he, along with everyone else, has not played all the years releases. And yet regular as clockwork, these posts show up (and users are swiftly dealt with).

Getting to the point where I'd advocate that the OPs for GOTY lists don't include the list itself - it actually works against discussion.

EDIT: although on second though, these threads can serve as an excellent way to cull the herd of people who don't know how to have a discussion in the first place.
 

Fhtagn

Member
Awful hipster list that just goes against popular opinion to be "seen".

People accusing The New Yorker, long one of the most respected and influential magazines in America, of being hipsters in need of clicks or attention is easily the most amusing sort of lashing out I've ever seen on a gaming forum.

It's a good list based on what one person played, presented with reasons, criteria and caveats. Getting upset about it says way more about you (plural, not this specific poster) than it does the New Yorker.
 

yyr

Member
Not saying it's not a good list, but I am disappointed to not see Ori on it, even in honorable mentions. Oh well.
 
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